Keralam South Indian Restaurant.

I FIRMLY believe that Indian cooking is one of the most intellectual and tasty of cuisines, an Indian chef is required to have such a complete mastery over the properties of spices and how they are blended. And nowhere is this more true than for south Indian cooking.

Spices are the soul of Indian cuisine, with the aromas of freshly ground spices being made for the days’ dishes in kitchens all over the country. For those purists who crave a jolly good Indian curry, any store in Calcutta would be confused if you went in and asked for a packet of curry powder. Curry is an English word derived from the South Indian word Kaikaari (or Kaari) meaning vegetables cooked with spices and a dash of coconut. If you then ask for curry in a restaurant in India they think you mean ‘gravy’ when in fact curry is an actual spice made up from garam masala, coriander powder and turmeric.
So, it was with a keen appetite I accepted an invitation to ‘test out the gravy’ at Keralam South Indian Restaurant in Coral Bay.

We started with the usual, yet unusual Indian dips – freshly-made poppadoms, onion bhajees (light and tasty, coated in a batter that was mercifully devoid of dripping cooking oil), unda erachi (south Indian keftedes). Then we had a rather safe dish titled Chicken 65; safe in that anyone of retirement age who had previously denied themselves the experience of eating Indian food could happily tuck into it without fear their gallbladder would protest.

South Indian cuisine is known for its kindness on the stomach; the food is highly digestible due to the healthy fermenting process some of the food stuffs go through. Keralam cooking also promotes a far drier approach, with dishes less laden with sauce here. You can actually taste the marinades and savour the flavour of the meat or fish without having your taste buds totally mugged from the outset.

For main course we settled on tiger prawns marinated in herbs and spices wrapped in a banana leaf then pan baked (with a warning not to eat the banana leaf), aatirachi olarthiathu, which to you and me is pieces of lamb sautéed with onion and herbs (simple but super), along with a beef masala, which was one of the best I have ever tasted. Coconut is big in Keralam but not the ‘snuff’ you get in the supermarket; it is creamed, delicious and perfectly complements everything.

The mali kofta is yet another dish served at Keralam which is different to the standard Indian fare. Imagine the unique flavours combined by boiled vegetable balls cooked in a cashew-based gravy and finished with cream and sherry.

Everything we ate at Keralam was given top marks by all of us. The service may be a bit snail like, but with a bottle of chilled Lambrusco, which perfectly matches the tastes that await you, it’s no great hardship to sit, glass in hand, nibbling on a poppadom until your parade of decidedly friendly food arrives at your table.

Speciality Imaginative flavour combinations
Kids welcome but doubt if very young children would relish the food
Seating 50 plus
Where Aristo Coral Bay Complex (just past Coral Beach Hotel turn)
Contact 26 622877
Booking advisable
Price

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